


compare/contrast

by Ailelie



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, just a scene, taking it slow, yeza is the best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 05:57:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18440432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ailelie/pseuds/Ailelie
Summary: In the quiet of their room, with no one around to impress or reassure, Yeza tries to meet Veth where she is and hopes she will let him in.





	compare/contrast

Yeza fluffs the pillows again, nervously adjusting the nest of blankets and pillows he'd formed. Veth is consulting with her friends and he is preparing. She keeps hiding herself from him, even when they spend the hours together. She is more skilled, self-possessed, and, honestly, bloodthirsty like this, but he has also caught the way she avoids her reflection and drinks more. He's also heard the others call her "Nott." He hopes they do not understand what that name means and the taunts it references. He hates that she might think the name is now true.

The door creaks open and Veth slips in. "You're still awake."

"I was waiting for you."

Veth looks at the nest he's made. "The bed is probably more comfortable for you."

"I am not sleeping without you."

Veth nods and crosses the room. She's so bold in front of the others and suggestive, but Veth has always been able to put on a brave face. She's barely let him touch her after that first exploration in his cell. "We will fix this," she says, gesturing to herself. "I promise." 

He motions her to sit. "I don't mind." He scoots closer to her, stopping when she flinches. His knees are a few inches from hers. "I won't lie; this is strange. But you're still you, still my Veth."

"I'm a monster." Her voice breaks. The tone is rougher, but the inflection is familiar.

"No. You just have a whole new you for me to learn." Yeza pushes a lock of Veth's hair back, tracing his fingertips along the long line of her ear. Her eyes flutter shut and he smiles. "And you know how much I enjoy learning." She hums. His fingers continue stroking up and down along her ear; the skin is unexpectedly soft. "These are more sensitive. Will you let me kiss you here?"

Veth starts. "I'm not—I'm hideous. You can't—" She tries to turn away, but Yeza lowers his hand to her cheek and gently tilts her face back up. Veth's eyes are luminous in the half-lit room. The gaze is foreign, but the vulnerability is not. He brushes his thumb along the edge of her lower lip, grazing below her teeth.

"May I kiss you?"

Veth nods sharply, awkwardly.

"Thank you." He picks up both of her hands and presses a soft kiss to each palm. Her breath hitches. Her hands, though bonier and tipped with black nails, are still so strong and clever. He turns them over and kisses her knuckles. Her hands tighten over his own. He meets her gaze. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He could push and take her up on the wild flirtations outside their room, but here in the flickering candlelight he sees the tension in her shoulders and the tears shimmering in her eyes. "Why don't we rest?"

She smiles shakily. "You've made a nice little nest."

"Our love nest," he teases, and Veth laughs—not as clear as before, but still just as bright.

They curl together amid the bedding. Veth wraps herself around him from behind and he folds his arms over hers. He falls asleep with her breath in his ear. So much has changed, but she is still home.


End file.
